Arizona Legislature Champions the Rich, Corporations, but Attacks Workers
by Clyde Weiss | May 15, 2012
Arizona’s Legislature – dominated by Republicans who hold two-thirds majorities in each chamber – has finally finished its business for the year. Thank goodness they’ve gone home after having spent 116 days doing the bidding of corporate-backed, right-wing groups such as the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and the Goldwater Institute.
In a state with some of the highest poverty and foreclosure rates in the nation, you would think legislators would have been hard at work creating jobs and helping working families climb out of this recession. Instead, these lawmakers began their session pushing a package of anti-middle class, union-busting bills despite the fact that most Americans favor collective bargaining rights.
Let’s take a look briefly at what they tried – and failed – to accomplish. One measure would have killed collective bargaining entirely. Another, aimed at undermining the bargaining power of working families, would have required employees to re-sign up annually to have their union dues deducted from their paychecks. And despite being tossed out by courts last year for being unconstitutional, lawmakers introduced another bill that attempted to silence the voices of union members in the political process.
Teachers, firefighters, police officers and the public service workers of AFSCME joined forces to kill these bills. They succeeded – none of the measures passed.
Another ALEC-inspired bill championed by Gov. Jan Brewer did pass despite the efforts of AFSCME and our partners. It wiped out civil service protections for state employees, making it easier for politicians to fire public service workers who don’t toe the line for them and their cronies. Some employees are already being re-classified and told to re-apply for their own jobs.
On a more positive note, Governor Brewer recently signed a bill a bill that returns money taken from AFSCME members’ paychecks for pensions. But her action came only after AFSCME stood up against these unconstitutional cuts in court - and won. But challenges remain.
The right-wing super-majority also tried to ensure its power would not be watered down by attempting to remove the chair of the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission. This unjustified power grab was overturned by the state Supreme Court.
The super-rich and corporations can also thank Arizona lawmakers for giving them additional tax cuts in a package that was passed in the final hours of the session. The tax cuts include slashing the income tax rate on capital gains, among others. They will cost Arizona taxpayers $107.8 million a year by 2019.
“One thing is clear. In order to stop these politicians who have failed their constituents, our members and co-workers must register to vote and then go to the polls,” says Sheri Van Horsen, president of AFSCME Local 3111. “It is up to us to take our state back to the land of sanity for our families and our future.”
